So maybe there's a disconnect between what the Leafs are preparing for in Game One and what the Leafs are saying. Elliotte Friedman was on the Canucks Army podcast last night and did note that you can't trust teams at this time in the season to be entirely truthful and up front when it comes to injuries.

A few thoughts to tide us over until Wednesday. Leading up to Game One, we'll run a series of previews along with some of our own in-house analytics to break down Eastern Conference Series D as best we can in the coming days.

Did you know it's been a while since the Toronto Maple Leafs last played a playoff game? It's true. Be reminded every day between now and about the first intermission of Game Two, and possible for the first two periods of Game Three when the Leafs play at home.

The Leafs overcoming some very long odds to make the postseason is a pretty cool story, and their opponent has yet to be determiend. (Although it may be determined by the time you read this column, but I won't be able to file anything else until about 3 a.m. Eastern, and who is going to read anything at that time?)

Part of what's gone on in the time that it's taken the Leafs to make the playoffs is that it seems every team has developed some sort of national anthem schtick—Rene Rancourt in Boston fist pumping after singing the Star-Spangled Banner, Mark Donnelly in Vancouver letting the crowd sing the middle section, Montreal fans booing the Star-Spangled Banner and Phoenix fans showing up late, if at all.

It's upsetting that the last three games of the Toronto Maple Leafs' season were entirely devoid of meaning. Practically locked into the four spot, Randy Carlyle had the opportunity to skate new line combinations, start his backup goalie or get Jake Gardiner going. None of this happened, and while the Leafs had a couple of good efforts against Tampa Bay and Florida in a recent trip, they completely mailed in their last game of the season, emphasizing brawn over brains and playing an utterly embarrassing final game of the season as hockey fans across North America tuned out to watch Minnesota and Columbus.

46 minutes in penalties in that third period. I had the game on mute so didn't catch what happened to Clarke MacArthur and Frazer McLaren. Didn't care. Once the Canadiens took a 3-1 lead with the Leafs only having taken 7 shots, you knew what kind of game it would be. Either they didn't have the effort or the focus or their effort and focus was misguided. At puck drop, Ryan White, Brandon Prust, Colton Orr and McLaren were on the ice. While no fisticuffs ensued, at only a couple of points in the evening did you get the impression the Leafs were worried about hockey.